It's been awhile since I've been able to listen to music. I have needed healing from my previous life and didn't know if I would ever (or will ever) find that love I had in my youth.When Dan Fogelberg died this past December, I was surprised how it affected me. It was like losing a family member and I really didn't know why it hit me that way.
This past week I was talking to a friend about what he was doing in the music world. He is being hired out these days to arrange, create, and produce orchestra tracks to enhance songs. Of course, that made my mind and heart go back to the record that probably impacted me more than any other record. Dan Fogelberg's "Nether Lands".
I decided to really listen to this album again. Now, I know why Dan's death hit me so hard. This was the record that pushed me over the edge to try and become a writer and guitar player. As much as other bands and artists moved me...this was that defining album for me. I knew that I wanted to try and write songs that would move people to the point that it would change them. I was never able to achieve that...but, thankfully I tried and don't regret trying. Dan had created a masterpiece. Full of songs with instrumentation that emotionally took me on a journey and forced me to see a bigger world. It truly moved me and helped me realize that music could change people, help people, and encourage them. It changed me again this past week. It ministered to me and gave me hope.
DAN FOGELBERG
Nether Lands
High on this mountain
The clouds down below
I'm feeling so strong and alive
From this rocky perch
I'll continue to search
For the wind and the snow and the sky
Oh I want a lover and I want some friends
And I want to live in the sun
And I want to do all the things that I never have done
Sunny bright mornings and pale moonlit nights
Keep me from feeling alone
Now I'm learning to fly and this freedom is like
Nothing that I've ever known
Oh I've seen the bottom and I've been on top
But mostly I've lived in between
And where do you go when you get to the end of your dream?
Off in the Nether Lands I heard the sound
Like the beating of heavenly wings
And deep in my brain I can hear a refrain
Of my soul as she rises and sings
Anthems to glory and anthems to love
And hymns filled with earthly delight
Like the songs that the darkness composes to worship the light
Once in a vision I came on some woods
And stood at a fork in the road
My choices were clear yet I froze with the fear
Of not knowing which way to go
Oh, one road was simple acceptance of life
The other road offered sweet peace
When I made my decision
My vision became my release
9 comments:
"I knew that I wanted to try and write songs that would move people to the point that it would change them."
You changed me. And I know I'm not alone.
Steve's right. You did great work, my friend. Thanks for sharing those feelings and reminding us of that incredible song. I could hear it in my head as I read the lyric.
Thanks guys. I wasn't trying to get a pat on the back... I just thought it was great to be reminded of this record and that true defining moment. After listening and reading the credits and lyrics of Nether Lands after all these years just meant a lot to me and made me feel something I haven't felt in a long time.
They might have been pats on the back. Or they might have been wake-up slaps in the face! You still have music in you, you know.
But I understand where you were going with the entry. And I think it's good that you had this experience and felt what you felt. Fogelberg's THE INNOCENT AGE is the one that affects me that way. I often have lyrics and melodies from its better songs (not usually the hits) playing around in my head--"The Reach," for example.
Yes, I need a slap in the face every once in awhile! Probably my next favorite albums are Dan's PHOENIX and THE INNOCENT AGE! Incredible albums...The I-Age was like a sequel to Nether Lands. I need to go get that on CD.
I have THE INNOCENT AGE on CD. I listened to it last October as I was driving through Colorado and into Denver. I knew then that Fogelberg was sick, but I was shocked when he died less than a couple of months later.
For me? It's definitely "Where There's Smoke" by the Gibson/Miller Band.
JUST kidding!!!!
"Where's the smoke"???? I got some...! Hey, speaking of great moments in music, the drumming on "Out of the Grey"s first CD was stunning. Of course, on all the songs you did prior to that recording was even more stunning!
I really appreciate the openness and candor that you have in this blog, my friend. It is refreshing when people that I know, kinda/sorta, let me know a little bit more. Peace to you.
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